Achieve a fast investigation with Polonious

A fair and fast investigation is the ideal result of any workplace investigation. Workplace investigations tend to be time-consuming, as there is usually a lack of resources, poor communication and unclear procedures that can complicate things. On top of that, inefficient case management can drag out the investigation even more, making it more difficult for everyone involved. While speed and quality are often mutually exclusive, A thorough but fast investigation is not an impossible task to achieve once the right elements are in place. 

Achieve a fast investigation

Polonious’s role is to ensure every case is a fast investigation but without rushing the process. Investigations will need a lot of thinking time, people will need some space and there may be conflicts along the way. We focus on the steps of the process that will lead to a fast investigation. These are:

• Try to maintain confidentiality at every step
• Gather information before starting
• Create a checklist
• Allocate roles to each party
• Interview parties in the right order
• Do not skip steps
• Review the investigation and create a template

Try to maintain confidentiality at every step

Confidentiality is extremely important in any investigation. However, no matter how hard an investigator may try, confidentiality may be breached by people sharing their situation with others. This can delay the investigation as people will then recount someone else’s version of events or be influenced to support one person over another. To add to that, confidentiality needs to also be maintained when handling documents, interview notes and evidence. Those will need to be stored in a space where they cannot be accessed by other people for the whole process of the investigation. 

Polonious takes care of that as our system provides a secure space for all files, with detailed role based access controls determining what information is available to whom. We have been ISO 27001 certified for years, highlighting our commitment to keeping all information safe. This gives investigators one less thing to worry about. 

Gather information before starting

There can be three types of investigators:

1. Those who start with as much information as possible
2. Those who avoid starting the process
3. Those who initiate the investigation without all the facts

For the third type, it may not be entirely their fault. Companies may have deadlines they need to meet, the case may be extremely sensitive and there may be a lot of pressure to complete a fast investigation. However, a fast investigation still needs to have a structure. Polonious’ numerous reporting options can help investigators; from detailed webforms to integrations with other systems, Polonious can help with gathering information from many sources that can be stored in one place for easy access. 

Investigators should look to gather as many facts as possible, as they will need a lot of context to develop their strategy and investigation plan. Our clients usually save all the necessary details of the case in Polonious, so the whole team can look at them and they can work together to decide the next steps. Being on the same page can actually fast-track an investigation as there is less confusion and everyone is working off the same information. 

If the investigators are managing multiple cases at the same time, Case Engine will enable easy tracking of all of them through the dashboard by categorising them. 

Create a checklist

Once initial facts have been gathered, the next step to achieving a fast investigation is to create a checklist which will keep people accountable and help ensure the right process is being followed. Polonious can create checklists as well as allocate reminders to each point to help investigators stay on track. Once an investigator logs their progress, an automatic progress update can go out to each team, saving them time. The status of the investigation can also be updated through Case Engine. Once an activity is completed, intuitive structured forms will be provided to investigators to assist them in the next steps. 

Allocate roles to each party

It is essential that every investigation has a lead. The lead investigator will be guiding the team and delegating tasks along the way. They will be the ones contacting the management with updates and communicating the results of the investigation. To ensure a fast investigation, every participant in the investigation will need to be allocated a role. Whether that is the role of the interviewer, admin, or evidence gathering, roles need to be clear.

Case Engine helps activities run smoothly for every role. The lead investigator can attach all relevant names to the case along with when they need to be contacted. They can enjoy pre-filled email templates as well as a comprehensive dashboard that shows them the activities of their team. This gives them the ability to revise steps if they need to and let them know whether their team needs assistance or whether a step needs a time extension. 

Interviewers can save all their investigation data in Case Engine. Not only that, but with Simple2Connect, they can set up and conduct online and secure interviews. If they need to contact a person again, they can look at their past conversations easily and create a task for themselves. 

Investigators can log expenses, generate reports with one click, develop a risk matrix for each case or update personal details quickly through our user-friendly interface. 

Evidence gathering is also easier with Polonious. We accept different types of evidence that can be categorised depending on what is required. For example, social media posts may require Word files, PDFs, images or event screen recordings. 

Interview parties in the right order

Every person in the investigation will likely have a story to tell. The point of interviews is to get as many facts as possible and determine the credibility of witnesses. The information collected through the interviews can then be used to determine who was being honest or who may have been manipulating their story. There will be many cases where the interviewees may not understand the severity of the situation. The interviewer will need to explain to them why the investigation is happening and then remain non-judgmental for the duration of the interview. 

The best interviews are impartial. While investigators can show sympathy, they should not try to give their personal opinions or ask leading questions. A mix of predominantly open-ended questions and helpful yes or no questions will assist in making sure the interviewee does not get exhausted and is still ok with continuing the interview. 

If multiple people are carrying out the interviews, the team can record the findings in Case Engine to develop a plan for the second round of interviews or to identify more people of interest. 

Do not skip steps

A fast investigation should be structured in the most efficient way possible. Investigators will need to follow the process effectively. Skipping steps is actually counterproductive as instead of a fast investigation, cutting corners may result in a delayed process. 

At Polonious we understand that some tasks may be more time-consuming than others or require different documentation to be completed. Through Case Engine, we can turn simple, checkbox and option list based decision forms into detailed letters and other communications. This will allow investigators to create faster and more detailed reports, without needing to re-write every single detail. Emails will also become more efficient as there will be less things to fill out. 

If a step is skipped and bottlenecks are created, the lead investigator will be able to detect the bottleneck and create strategies to address it. 

Review the investigation and create a template

Templates are one of the best ways to achieve a fast investigation. Once a case is completed, Case Engine allows investigators to look back and identify areas for improvement. Based on their activities, their checklist may need to be updated or their investigation plan may need to be evaluated for future cases. 

• What caused delays?
• What step took more time than initially planned? 
• Do they need to allocate more time to this step or find ways to make it more efficient?
• Was the interview strategy followed by everyone?
• Is there a way to provide more support to clients?

By looking at the data, investigators can create templates for their interviews as well as create resources such as documents with mental health help and hotlines. They should also note down their own thoughts, and give feedback on how they think everything went. Continuous improvement and not staying complacent is one of the best ways to achieve a fast investigation in the future.

Achieving a fast investigation one step at a time

With solutions covering a wide range of cases, we offer the right solutions so that every case can lead to a fast investigation. We assist teams with fraud, bribery, employee misconduct, data breaches and more, focusing on always delivering high-quality workflows. On top of Case Engine, our customers also choose our whistleblower hotline, which fast-tracks the employee complaint straight to the right people. 

Discover Case Engine and hear more about how we help experts all over the world with their investigations. Book a free demo with one of our friendly experts today.